Saudis Set Up Field Hospital in Baghdad

Published 8:00 pm, Monday, April 28, 2003

Associated Press Writer

Most of the injured Iraqis who line up for treatment each day outside a new field hospital are surprised to hear who runs the health facility.

"I didn't expect Saudi Arabia would do something like this, because our relations have been tense," said Sabri Khalaf, who came for treatment for an insect bite. "Saddam made troubles with all our neighbors."

The hospital, set up on a field outside al-Mustansariya University's pharmacy college, opened last week on orders from Saudi King Fahd. It now treats between 600 and 800 people each day, according to Col. Saud Othman al-Shalash, the hospital's director and chief surgeon.

With a dozen ambulances, 45 doctors and more than 200 other employees, it is a welcome addition to Baghdad, a city still short on electricity, water, medicine and basic supplies.

Faris Ahmed, 38, showed up on Monday hoping doctors could remove a bullet lodged next to his liver. Iraqi doctors were only able to remove four of the five bullets that hit him during gun battles in recent weeks.

Baghdad's hospitals have been overwhelmed since the war, and many were looted in the days following the U.S. bombardment of Baghdad.

The field hospital has two operating rooms, an intensive-care unit and several other areas for recovery and anesthesiology. The facility also has specialized units, a dental clinic and a pharmacy that hands out free medicine to patients.

"I think we have X-rayed more than 80 cases in the past five days," said 1st Lt. Mubarak al-Ashmari.

Dr. Khaled Mteiri, who specializes in internal medicine and cardiology, said he sees up to 110 patients a day.

The doctors also are treating cases not related to the war. Hadi Mohammed al-Shroukhi brought his daughter Hind, 12, who has an infection in her foot after she underwent an operation for bone cancer several months ago.

The father said the infection set in because of the medicine shortage in Iraq. Without the Saudi hospital's help, Iraqi doctors would have had to amputate the girl's leg because he could not afford to take her outside the country for treatment.

A Saudi army battalion guards the hospital, which is run by the Saudi National Guard, the Saudi Red Crescent and other Saudi officials.

Saudi troops fought in a U.S.-led coalition that threw the Iraqi army out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War.

Relations have gradually improved since then _ and in a gesture of reconciliation at an Arab summit last year, Saddam deputy Izzat Ibrahim hugged and kissed Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.

The hospital is another step forward.

Al-Shalash said it aims to treat Iraqi people, assist the country's hospitals after they resume full operations and airlift critically ill or wounded patients to Saudi Arabia.